Hot and Cold
by YandereSamantha
Summary: A series of short stories featuring the rocky relationship of the FLW named Sabine Altier and her childhood bully, the one and only Butch DeLoria. Will they ever learn to appreciate the other's presence? Story may continue in a chronological order. Ratings subject to change.
1. Epilogue: Kindergarten Days

A/N: Hey there peeps. First time writing a Fallout 3 fanfic so please go easy on me. Anyways, here's a little epilogue. I hope you guys enjoy it! Reviews are appreciated!

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Mr. Brotch arranged the papers on his desk as the students came flooding in the classroom. He looked at the clock and hoped no one would be late. It was the first day of school for these kids. He looked at the clock again and assigned the students to their seats. The parents all came out of the classroom as the classes started, including the Overseer, whose daughter happens to be one of his students.

"Hello everyone, I am Mr. Brotch. I'm going to be your teacher for… who knows when," he said, greeting his new students.

"Goodmorning Mr. Brotch," the class answered in chorus.

"Now, let's go check the attendance then we can get started," Mr. Brotch said, picking up a clipboard on which an attendance sheet was attached. He looked around and started calling the names of his students for an attendance check.

"Butch?"

"Here teach," a little boy with blue eyes said, raising his hand and placing his foot on the desk.

"Glad to see you made it, Mr. DeLoria. Oh, and please put your foot down," he said, eyeing him. Butch made a face and put his down, earning him a few giggles from his classmates.

"Paul?"

"What? Oh! Here!" a young, dark-skinned boy said, attempting to hide his issue number one Captain Cosmos comic book.

"Hey there, Junior. Now just to make it clear, you kids aren't allowed to bring comic books in class. Understood?"

"Yes Mr. Brotch," the class answered in chorus.

"Freddie?"

"Here teacher," Freddie said, the son of Officer Gomez, one of the Overseer's men.

"Wally?"

"Here," the stoic child said. This kid was a Mack. His brother, Stevie Mack, had been trying to get in the security force, but people think otherwise due to his… violent disposition.

"Alright, let's move on to the girls," Mr. Brotch said. "Amata?"

"Here!" Amata said with a sweet smile on her face. Butch's blue eyes met Overseer's daughter's and he made a face. "Daddy's girl…"

"Mister Brotch!" Amata protested, earning her another scowl from the troublesome boy. "Alright Butch, that's enough," Mr. Brotch said, crossing his arms.

"But I didn't do anything!" he said in a defiant tone. For a boy his age he's already quite the troublemaker. "Crybaby…" he muttered to himself.

"Okay, now where were we? Sabine?"

There was no response. Mr. Brotch looked around and saw an empty seat. "Where could James' daughter be?" he murmured to himself. Suddenly, tiny frantic footsteps approached the room. A little girl popped at the classroom door, panting and wheezing. "I-I'm sorry I'm late Mr. Brotch," she said. Her skin was a creamy white and her frazzled dark hair hung in a loose ponytail. Her glasses, which were too big for her face, was sliding down her tiny nose, framing her chubby face. Her chocolate brown eyes avoided contact. Her father, James quickly caught up with her.

"I'm sorry my daughter's late Edwin," James said. "The child decided to stay up late reading books again," he explained with a chuckle. Mr. Brotch smiled. "Like father like daughter, I see. Okay then, I will let it pass this time, since it's her first day of school. Okay Sabine, say goodbye to your daddy."

The little girl turned around to embrace her father. "Bye bye daddy," she squeaked, almost not letting go of her father. "Be a good girl, sweetie. I'll pick you up after school, okay?" Sabine just nodded and her father left. Of course, the father and daughter's display of parental sweetness earned her a scowl from Butch. "Another daddy's girl. No wonder she's friends with the Overseer's brat." Pretending to stretch, he tripped the newcomer, causing her to stumble and land face first on the ground.

Sabine didn't know what happened. All she remembered was she fell and now she's clutching her bloody nose. Amata came rushing to her aid while the rest of the class was laughing at the little accident. "Haha! Nice face you got there, nosebleed!" Butch yelled, earning him a glare from Mr. Brotch. Sabine managed to stand up and throw a boot directly to Butch's face. Laughter erupted again, but this time it was directed to him.

"Alright, that's enough. Butch, go sit in the corner," Mr. Brotch said while Amata helped Sabine retrieve her boot. "But I was only stretching!" he reasoned, rubbing his face. "Funny, that's the same thing your father said to me years ago," he deadpanned, accompanying the boy in the seat and putting a hat on his small head.

"Now everything's settled, let's get back to checking the attendance," he said, picking up the clipboard.

Sabine looked over her shoulder and glared at Butch. Butch caught her looking and slid his tongue out. Sabine retorted by squishing her nose with her finger and crossing her eyes, making him burst out in laughter.

"Butch!" Mr. Brotch yelled, making the little boy cower in shame. Sab only giggled as he tried to reason with their teacher.

This is going to be the start of an _amazing_ friendship.


	2. Chapter 1: That Dang Sweetroll

"Butchie! Get dressed before you get late for Sabby's party!" Ellen yelled, taking another swig of whiskey.

"But Moooooom, do I really have to go to that stupid party?" he yelled, putting on his child's jumpsuit.

"Of course you do! Her daddy's the vault physician. Just… go for chrissake…" she slurred, slumped on their couch.

"Fine, fine, I will. It ain't fun here anyway," he grumbled. All his mother and father had been doing was fighting and getting piss drunk. Butch never liked it. Especially when his dad hits her mom. He hated it. Butch hated him. He wished the miserable fuck would just go away.

"Oh Butchie, you forgot somethin'," Ellen slurred, standing up and walking towards her son. "Yeah? What is it mom?" Butch yelled, fixing his hair.

Ellen came closer and planted a sloppy, stinky kiss on his son's forehead, her putrid breath invading his nostrils. "I love you son. Have a nice day at Sabby's party," she slurred, smiling. "Agh, gross mom! Fine. I love you too," he said, fixing his hair again and heading out the door.

He met up with Paul and Wally on the way there. "Hey fellas, I'm thinking it's about time we should give our gang a name," Butch said, being the self-proclaimed leader of their little "gang". "Let's discuss it at the nerd's party. Like it's going to be interesting anyway," Wally said, hands swaying as he walked. "Uh, sure Wally, whatever you say," Paul said, hands in his suit pocket. "Hey! I'm the one calling the shots here!" Butch yelled. "Fine, we're almost at nosebleed's party anyway."

The three made their way there, sitting at the same table. It was late February in 2268; it should be winter by now, but unfortunately there is no snow in the Vaults. Butch eyed the cake set near Andy, a Mister Handy Robot. He hasn't eaten yet, considering all the food coupons they received were spent on his parents' booze. Butch's stomach grumbled at the mere sight of it.

The birthday girl comes out, and Butch catches Paul talking to her. He scowled. "What, is she your best friend now? Hey Wally, I think Paul's in love…" he taunts with a teasing smirk on his face. A few moments later, Andy attempts to cut the cake, but ends up destroying it. Butch was about lo lose all hope but he saw Sabine holding a sweetroll from Mrs. Palmer.

Sabine was about to take a bite from the sweetroll when she saw Butch approaching. She already knew what's going to happen. Butch has a habit of stealing the other kids' lunch. One time, he managed to switch his lunch consisting of a greasy and squished peanut butter sandwich and stale apple juice with Amata's lunch. Another time, he beat up poor, sweet Freddie just to steal his club sandwich. Worse, one time he bit a chocolate bar straight out of her hand! For once, she wanted to share her lunch with him so he would leave her and Amata alone, but he was still a greedy jerk even after that. No way she's going to Butch take her sweetroll. Hurriedly, she shoved the sweetroll in her mouth and bit off a large portion of it.

"I'm hungry, and that stupid robot destroyed the cake!" he yelled, his empty stomach making his mood ten times worse. Sabine was dumbfounded. "Mmmm… It sure is good," Sabine said, her mouth still full of food. "You what?!" he exclaimed. Sabine only smiled innocently, her creamy cheeks puffy because of the sweetroll. "Dang, I love those sweetrolls Old Lady Palmer makes," Butch said with a trace of disappointment in his voice. Sabine decided to tease him my chewing slowly and savoring the tasty treat, which of course, only angered him more. "You... little... Just stay out of my way, you got it?"

Sabine almost wanted to laugh, but hearing about Butch's parents' problems, she sort of felt sorry for the poor sod. "Hey Butch," she said, tapping his shoulder. "Yeah? Whaddaya want, butt head?" he angrily said, still upset he wasn't able to eat and push the nerd around. Sabine offers what's left of the sweetroll. "If it makes you feel any better, you can have the rest. I'm full anyways," she said with a little smile as her glasses, which were still too big for her face, slipped all the way down to the tip of her nose. Butch thought she looked ridiculously geeky. But he did want the sweetroll. Examining it, he saw the bite marks on the treat and scowled. "Gah! I don't want your cooties."

Sabine gave him a sour look. "Jerk," she thought to herself. "Oh well, more for me," she said as she took a bite off the scrumptious piece of pastry. The way Sabine savored and chewed the sweetroll made him all the while envious. "Give me that!" he yelled. With one vicious swipe, he bit the sweetroll off Sabine's hand, almost biting her fingers off as well, earning him a disgusted stare. Sabine crossed her arms. "Ugh, and they say girls are hard to get. You boys are confusing…" she said, blushing and wiping his saliva off of her jumpsuit.

"Yeah, right. Thanks, loser. Oh, and happy birthday." Butch finished his sentence with a mocking laugh. Amata stood beside Sabine and checked if she's okay.

"Sabby, are you okay? What's wrong with him? Eating your sweetroll straight out of your hand…" she said, pursing her lips and giving him a deadly glare.

"Don't mind him, Amata. I offered it to him. Besides, his mom probably drank down all their food coupons again," Sabine deadpanned. Amata giggled at her friend's remark. "I gotta leave the party for a while Amata, dad asked me to follow him," Sabine said. "Okay, have fun with your dad!" Amata said as her best friend made her way to Dr. Altier.

Meanwhile, Butch went back to sit with his friends, rubbing his tummy contentedly. "Okay guys, time to decide what will we- why are you punks looking at me like that?" he asked mid-sentence. Paul and Wally were looking at him mockingly and were giggling among themselves. "I thought Paul was in love with dork face. It turns out you're the one who wants her," Wally said, while Paul tried stifling his laughter.

Butch pounded on the table. "I only took her dang sweetroll, you idiot! Not my fault no one can resist the Butchman," he said, crossing his arms. "Butchman?" Paul chuckled. "You gotta problem with that, punk?" Butch said, threatening him with his fist.

"I don't know Butch. By the looks of it, I could tell she has a crush on you, but she thinks you're a jerk," Stanley said, overhearing their conversation and cutting in. He is Vault 101's resident Pip Boy technician. The three young boys looked at each other.

"_Eeeeeew_."

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A/N: Hey guys. First chapter here. I want to apologize for taking the liberty of altering the LW's birthday. I know his/her canon birthday is July 13, but, ehh. Carry on.


	3. Chapter 2: Christmas 2271

Christmas season, 2271. It's a surprise they still celebrate it despite what happened in the last 200 years. Many years ago, when Vault 101 had a lot of residents, many would gather and celebrate Christmas together, as told by Old Lady Palmer. When the population thinned out, however, these celebrations were minimized to a simple get together.

Of course, Mr. Brotch's class was going to have the yearly Christmas party. Christmas was fast approaching and everyone was busy fixing the decorations, well, except for the Tunnel Snakes. After a year of arguing and discussing Butch's gang finally decided they should go by that name. Amata, who had been busy helping out, notices this and turns to Sabine.

"They aren't helping again…" she whispers, making Sabine pause from painting the piece she had been working on. Aside from studying about science and medicine, painting and sketching are two of her preferred hobbies. Mr. Brotch thought she was brilliant, but lazy and easily distracted. She lacked discipline. He had to reprimand her sometimes because instead of listening to his lectures, she was busy doodling something on her notebooks. Nonetheless, she seconded to Amata in terms of academics.

"Just leave them, Amata. Mr. Brotch will take care of them," she said, returning to her work. Amata furrowed her brows. "But that's so unfair! Everyone else is helping out, but they don't," Amata said, standing up. "And Mr. Brotch isn't here. I'm going to talk to them," she says, turning on her heel and walking towards the gang. Sabine slaps her forehead and follows Amata. This isn't going to end well.

"Hey, Tunnel Snakes," she called, making the three turn their heads. "Yeah? Whaddaya want, daddy's girl?" Butch asked, spitting the toothpick he had been biting on. "Why don't you guys help out? Everyone else is, and you three are the only ones who aren't," she said, hands on her hips. Susie and Christine turn their heads. "Oh boy," Susie whispers. "Here we go again."

"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" Wally asks, standing up and straightening his jacket. Amata takes a step back. Sabine, however, steps forward and adjusts her glasses. "I'll take care of this," she says, pulling Amata back. Amata gives her a worried look. "Are you sure?" she asks, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "I can take care of this Amata, don't you worry your pretty little head. Go on, I can handle this," she said, reassuring her with a smile.

Amata reluctantly goes back to work on the decorations, while Christine and Susie were whispering among themselves. Butch raises an eyebrow and pulls Sabine closer by her jumpsuit. "What? You gonna be the goody-two shoes everyone knows and take the hit for your best friend?" Sabine swats his hand away. "Careful! You almost touched something private, you twit," she said, covering her chest with her hands. The three only snickered among themselves. "Yeah, like there's something to touch."

Sabine was blushing from anger and embarrassment because of Butch's comment on her figure. "_I only entered puberty dammit,_" she thought to herself. She tries to shake the insulting remark off. "Whatever. Anyways, unless you guys help out and leave the two of us alone," she says, adjusting her glasses, "I'm going to tell Mr. Brotch that Butch here bullied me for the answers to his hard test a few days ago." Butch's blood ran cold. Technically, he _begged_ her. One more failed test, he's going to suffer the consequences. Desperate, he asked her for some answers. Normally, Sabine would let him suffer, but knowing he could get kicked, she let him. Besides, she can use this for blackmail when the time comes, and it _did_ come. "Well… uh… maybe you're right," he said, standing up. "C'mon Tunnel Snakes."

Contented, Sabine left the three and went back to Amata. "I told you I can do it," she said, grabbing a brush and painting the piece.

Christmas day. Everyone was enjoying the party, except for one. Butch was missing in action. Sabine noticed this and left Amata for a while to look for him. Sabine asked his gang, but none of them seemed to have a clue. Besides, they were too busy hitting on Christine. She didn't know why she bothered looking. Perhaps it's the Christmas spirit working her up? Oh well. She grabbed a sweetroll from the cupcake stand and looked for him. After looking for a while, she saw, him, kicking the wall and muttering something obscene. "_Wow. Acting like that on Christmas day. What's his problem?" _she thought to herself, approaching him with small steps.

Butch caught her from the corner of his eye and snarled. "_Great, something to make this damn day worse_," he thought to himself, turning around to face the geek. "Whaddaya want, nosebleed?" he asks, wiping the tears from his face and leaning against the wall. "Whoa Butch, are you crying?" she asked, sweetroll on her hands. He shot her a deadly gaze. "Okay, okay. I won't ask," she said, scooting near him. "Here, from the party. Merry Christmas, jerk," she said, shoving him the sweetroll. "Yeah, thanks loser. Now why don't you go back to your friend Amata and do some girly stuff," he said coldly, gobbling up the pastry. "Oh that's right, you don't like girly stuff," he said with his mouth full, crumbs spewing out his mouth.

Sabine merely rolled her eyes and shook the crumbs off. Butch fetched something from his jacket; it was a liquor bottle. The glasses-clad girl saw this and raised her eyebrows. "Aren't you too young to drink that?" she asked, examining the bottle from a distance. "So? None of your damn business, four-eyes." He took a swig, and then attempted to walk away, but being mildly inebriated, he tumbled a bit. Sabine caught his arm. "You're gonna get in trouble when the elders find out about this," she said. Butch shook the hand cradling his arm. "What? Ain't I always trouble?" He went to ramble, but something he said about his father caught Sabine's attention. "Damn bastard's always missing, then what? He's gonna show up asking for help with some disease and died on us last Christmas."

Sabine suddenly remembered him. He popped out of who knows where and went to her father's clinic. After that, she hasn't seen him again. "W-well, at least you have a mommy," she said, hugging her own body. Butch looked at her for five minutes straight until the realization hit him. So that's why it's always her father who's with her. "I'm going home," he said, turning on his heel. "Well, they'd find out you drank if you go to the party, so I guess it's a good idea," she said, straightening her jumpsuit and grabbing his arm. "Whaddaya think you're doing?" he asks, frowning. "I'm doing you a favor. If someone sees you like this you're in trouble. Oh that's right, I forgot I had cooties," she said, letting go of his arm and following him instead.

"Why are you still following me, four-eyes?" he asked, entering his mom's apartment. No one else was there. Sabine was too busy looking at the calendar. So Butch's turning fourteen in two days? He's actually a few months older than her and Amata.

"Get lost nosebleed," he said, making her go back to reality. "I'm going, I'm going, sheesh." She made her way out and back to the party.

"Where have you been? You missed the dance," Amata asked, handing her a glass of punch. "Ah nothing. Just went for a bathroom break. Like I have someone to dance with anyway," Amata frowned. "What about me?"

Two days later, Butch's mom found something on her front door. "Butchie, someone left this for you. Oh, and happy birthday son," she said, handing him the package wrapped in manila paper. He opened it. It was a copy of Pugilism Illustrated. Along with it came a note.

"Happy birthday, you good for nothing twerp. You only turn fourteen once, so enjoy this stupid present. Don't ask where I got that.

P.S. Not using what you'll learn from there on me or on Amata is enough for a late Christmas present.

- Four-eyes"

Butch laughed and slid the note in his pocket. "Yeah, thank _you_ loser."


End file.
